Hospitality Expert Witnesses

This expert is a recognized authority and consultant in the hotel industry. He operates his hotel, hospitality and consulting practice specializing in operational audits and the effectiveness of hotel franchising agreements and litigation support assignments. Prior to forming his hotel consulting firm, this expert was the Product Line Manager for Hotel/Motel Operations at the International Telephone & Telegraph Co. overseeing the Sheraton Corporation of America. His previous experience includes working as the General Manager of the Summit Hotel (762 Rooms), General Manager of the Drake Hotel (680 Rooms) and Resident Manager of the Americana Hotel (1842 Rooms), all in New York City. He serves on the Board of Advisors and lectures at the NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. He is a member of the prestigious International Society of Hospitality Consultants and is certified as a Master Hotel Supplier by the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. He served for eleven years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the City Club of New York. He is one of the most widely published authors in the hospitality field. His insightful articles on various hotel subjects have been published in the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Lodging Hospitality, Hotel & Motel Management, AAHOA Lodging Business, and posted on the Hotel Interactive and Hotel Online websites.

This hospitality expert has extensive experience in facilities management, corporate compliance, and social responsibility. He has held numerous positions at top international hotel chains including Marriott International and The Ritz-Carlton. His positions have included leading overall maintenance of hotels and training individuals in proper maintenance and safety procedures. He has extensive experience leading teams of engineers and hotel directors in hotel operations. Currently, this expert is a hospitality consultant focusing on facilities management training and operational standards.

This hotel/hospitality expert is a certified hotel administrator who has been heavily involved in the industry for more than 40 years, including positions as General Manager of a Best Western Inn Motel, Executive Vice President of State Street Associates, and General Manager of AmeriSuites Hotel. He is a former program director/associate professor of hospitality management at a local college, and is currently a consultant in the hotel/hospitality industry. He has 11 years of experience as an expert witness/consultant for attorneys with cases in his field.

This expert specializes in hotel operations, hospitality industry franchising, management company operations, and guest safety issues. He has more than 40 years of experience in the field. He is a certified hotel administrator. He started his career as the youngest general manager of the Holiday Inn chain at the age of 18. He served as President & CEO of The Equity Hotel Corporation which operated approximately 45 hotels in 14 states including economy, mid-tier and luxury resorts. He eventually took the position of President & CEO of the Ramada Hotel chain and Executive Vice President of the Cendant Hotel Division, now Wyndham Worldwide. This expert is currently a private hotel consultant as well as CEO of Vimana Franchise Systems which franchises Centerstone Inns, Hotels & Plaza Hotels as well as Key West Inns, Hotels & Resorts.

This expert has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality and restaurant industry. His experience includes positions at convention hotels in Los Angeles and Washington D.C., as well as management with fortune 500 restaurant companies in major cities throughout the country. He specializes in restaurant and hotel openings and consulting, as well as restaurant operations including safety and management. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Hospitality Management at a mid-Atlantic/northeast regional college.

This highly qualified expert has over 20 years of experience in the hotel industry. His hotel safety and maintenance experience includes 10 years with Marriott Hotels, Resorts, and Suites in various management positions. This expert was on the opening management team of the San Francisco Marriott, a 1500-room convention hotel. He was honored with the Director of Services of the Year award, Northwest Region. He later moved to the Marriott regional office in San Ramon, California as a Total Quality Management Facilitator where he worked with 17 hotel executive committees in the Northwest Region to develop strategic initiatives for each hotel. He has published 30+ articles on the hospitality industry and serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality and Tourism. He earned his Bachelor's from Indiana University and his Master's degree in Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management and PhD in Education-Instructional Design from Purdue University. Currently, this expert is an Associate Professor in the School of Hospitality Business at a major university, where he teaches classes on Executive Housekeeping Management.

This highly qualified expert currently serves as Director of Facilities at a major casino and hotel. He oversees the facilities maintenance department that is comprised of 100 team members that include 71 EVS attendants, 2 construction & development project managers, 2 waste water technicians, and 20 facilities team members. One of his major accomplishments includes designing, developing, and implementing a safety program for the facilities department. He is a member of the operations committee and the safety committee and served as Chairman for the fire prevention subcommittee. He has received awards for his performance as a facilities leader and he has served in a variety of facilities maintenance capacities.

This highly qualified expert has extensive experience in Food Safety and Nutritional Management Services. He holds certifications including ServSafe Food Safety Instructor/Proctor; Certified Executive Chef; Certified Culinary Educator; Registered Dietician; as well as a New York State License from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This expert is nationally recognized as a food safety trainer operating certification classes and "Third-party Audits" throughout New York State approved by local Health Departments. Furthermore, he has traveled the United States as well as Canada inspecting food service operations and restaurants, and instructing food safety certification programs. Currently, he is a Professor of Hospitality instructing food-safety classes for various colleges within New York State; and President of a training and consulting company in the Greater New York City Area.

This expert has 15 years experience in the food and beverage industry. He is a seasoned expert in all aspects of the hospitality world, including but not limited to management, acquisition, development, and financing. He has advanced and overseen the strategic business plans of numerous fine dine, high volume, quick service, and multi-unit food and beverage outlets across the Western United States. Prior to founding his hospitality consulting firm, he was with Paramount Pictures, where he served as the General Manager of Dining Services, overseeing and managing outlets servicing individuals ranging from the blue collar to Hollywood elites. Throughout his career, he has contributed to a wide variety of outlets such as quick service restaurants, full service bars and restaurants, hotel bars and lounges.

Robert Marcarelli is a well-known and respected chef, manager and restaurant consultant known throughout the Connecticut area. He has over fifteen years of hands-on business experience in restaurants, retail, catering, and the hospitality industry and over 20 years in business management. Robert’s experiences of working in the front and back of the house are what give him the competitive edge in our consulting field. Those skills, and specifically, his passion for taking an individual’s vision and developing it into a business plan, design, and brand name, set Robert apart in the industry. That was the driving force behind his past endeavors, including starting Pi LLC. Restaurant Consulting in 2005. Robert has been personally involved in various complex and of-the-moment hospitality concepts. His experience ranges from quick serve to fine dining, such as: a High Volume Brick Oven Pizza Restaurant, Gourmet Markets, Night Clubs, Banquet Facilities, an award winning Italian Bistro and Wine Bar, Connecticut’s First Green Certified Restaurant, a national known Soda Manufacturing Company, a NY TIMES rated “Excellent” Seafood Restaurant and more. He brings with him a deep knowledge of current food trends, award winning hospitality and of course, the network of Connecticut’s business leaders, leading Restaurant Groups, and the Industry’s best: Chefs, Managers and Professional Staff he has built lasting relationships with during his years of practice.

This expert earned his Ph.D in Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University. His research interests focus on the areas technology and foodservice; he has successfully published works in Hospitality Review Journal and Journal of Foodservice Business Research. His teaching experience include food and beverage management and hospitality management.

This expert on Resturant Operations has 34 years of experience in all segments of the hospitality industry. He obtained his BS in Hospitality from Florida International University and held various managerial positions as well as director positions for a Pizza Chains before moving on to more senior positions in the Food and Beverage Industry. He currently works as the Director of Operations at a seafood restaurant company.

This expert has more than 20 years of hospitality and guest ranch experience, having served as the General Manager of properties including airport hotels, boutique hotels, and outdoor camping resorts. The National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds awarded his facility with the Campground of the Year award in 2016.

This expert restaurant consultant has a wealth of experience as a professional chef and restaurant manager with varied experience in both New York City and the Caribbean. For several years, she owned and operated a successful restaurant and bar on St John in the US Virgin Islands and later operated a number of high volume restaurants in New York, including Le Pain Quotidien. She currently works as a freelance consultant and SCORE Mentor

This expert has 37 years of experience in the field of Hospitality and Restaurants. He earned his BS at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his MA in Social Psychology at San Diego State University. He is a member of the New York State Restaurant Association and has written articles for several restaurant and hospitality publications. He currently holds academic appointments as a Faculty Instructor of Culinary Management at a Culinary School in New York, and as an Adjunct Professor of Hospitality Management at a University in New York. He also serves as Partner at a Food Startup, as well as the President of a Hospitality Consulting Group in New York.

This expert in Hotel Management has extensive experience as a senior executive in premier hospitality organizations with national, international, and local responsibilities. He received a BS in Hospitality from Penn State University and an MS in Hospitality from NYU. He is a member of numerous professional societies. The expert has served in a number of management positions at independent hotels, HEI Hotels, and Sheraton/Starwood Hotels. He is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at a hospitality graduate school in New York City and the President of an independent hospitality management consulting firm.

This highly qualified expert has experience managing properties including resorts, hotels, and condos. His experience includes all operational aspects of reorganizing, quality control, risk management, and project management. He is particularly experienced in hospitality safety, and has dealt with issues ranging from slip and falls to hurricanes. He is a member of associations such as SKAL International and ARDA and is currently a board member of the Cocoa Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau. He has worked as a general manager for properties such as Crowne Plaza, Marco Island Hilton Beach Resort, and Wyndham Ocean Ridge. This expert is currently a general manager and director of operations at a resort company in Florida.

This qualified expert has nearly 30 years of experience in hospitality management and golf operations. He received his BS in accounting from St. Joseph's University and his MPS in applied statistics from Hodges University. He also completed coursework in supervisory management at the Wharton School of Business and a master's level course in operations management at the University of Wisconsin. He is quite active in his field, having conducted golf research, authored publications, and given presentations on his research. He has received several awards for his work, including Best Paper Award at two international academic conferences and the Horton Smith award from multiple PGA chapters. His former positions include the head golf professional at Glades Country Club, the director of golf at Heron's Glen Country Club, and the emeritus director of gold at Glades Country Club. He has also served as the manager of cost accounting at Scott Paper Company, the CEO and CFO of Micro Business Solutions, and an adjunct professor in the PGA Professional Golf Management program at Florida Gulf Coast University. This expert currently serves as a Level I instructor for the PGA Professional Golf Management program at a university in Florida.

This highly qualified expert has extensive experience in the field of hospitality. He has held several distinguished positions overseeing the food and beverage division of many renowned hotels and hotel chains, including Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand, W Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, and Hyatt Hotels. He has served as a consultant for multiple hotel chains and managed hotel openings for hotels such as the W Fort Lauderdale and the Westin Diplomat. Currently, he serves at the president of a hospitality management consulting group based in Nevada.